Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

A Sonic Youth album is rarely this dull

Think of what you love about Sonic Youth — the scalding interplay among musicians, the tipping-point buildup, the noise. Now strip it all away so you're left with the skeletal songs performed on acoustic guitar, violin and harp. That's pretty much what this solo album from Sonic Youth's main man Thurston Moore sounds like. Produced by Beck in the same maudlin style as his mopey breakup album Sea Change, Demolished Thoughts makes Moore's voice the focus of its nine songs. But Moore's voice isn't the thing most fans love about Sonic Youth. So you're left with a set of lazy-day tracks — some good ("Benediction"), some endlessly dragging ("In Silver Rain With a Paper Key") — that casually drift away before they're over. A Sonic Youth album is rarely this dull.